The Daily Star reported that the Bangladesh Trade & Tariff Commission has said high tariff protection on imports of billet is affecting rebar users. BTTC said “The quantity of imported MS products is very low in the domestic market because of excessive protective tariffs. Besides, high protection reduces efficiency of producers and leads to an increase in production cost, which ultimately harms users.” The BTTC also said importers have to pay 44% of customs duty to import billet apart from paying TKD 500 as advance income tax. In addition, importers have to pay a total import duty of 89.32% to bring in finished products. The BTTC included these observations in a report recently submitted to the commerce ministry. A panel of the commission prepared the report in line with a decision of the commerce ministry to examine the reasons for volatility in the prices of essential commodities, including MS products. The report said Bangladesh has 400 small and large steel mills with a total annual production capacity of 9 million tonnes against a requirement of 7 million tonnes. The report factored in the increased cost of the US dollar for depreciation of Bangladesh's currency but added that the cost of the greenback for imports has reduced now. However, the fall in prices of scrap and cost of US dollars has not been reflected in the domestic market. The BTTC suggested the government adjust prices of MS products by monitoring international prices. It also recommended that millers inform the government before revising the prices of MS products and marketing them locally.
The Daily Star reported that the Bangladesh Trade & Tariff Commission has said high tariff protection on imports of billet is affecting rebar users. BTTC said “The quantity of imported MS products is very low in the domestic market because of excessive protective tariffs. Besides, high protection reduces efficiency of producers and leads to an increase in production cost, which ultimately harms users.” The BTTC also said importers have to pay 44% of customs duty to import billet apart from paying TKD 500 as advance income tax. In addition, importers have to pay a total import duty of 89.32% to bring in finished products. The BTTC included these observations in a report recently submitted to the commerce ministry. A panel of the commission prepared the report in line with a decision of the commerce ministry to examine the reasons for volatility in the prices of essential commodities, including MS products. The report said Bangladesh has 400 small and large steel mills with a total annual production capacity of 9 million tonnes against a requirement of 7 million tonnes. The report factored in the increased cost of the US dollar for depreciation of Bangladesh's currency but added that the cost of the greenback for imports has reduced now. However, the fall in prices of scrap and cost of US dollars has not been reflected in the domestic market. The BTTC suggested the government adjust prices of MS products by monitoring international prices. It also recommended that millers inform the government before revising the prices of MS products and marketing them locally.
